Federation Day in Venezuela

The Federation Day, which marks the outbreak of the Federal War, is the second most important milestone of the XIX century in the conformation of Venezuela as a national country. On February 20, 1859, Tirso Salaverría, at the head of forty armed men, stormed the Coro Barracks launching the "Cry of the Federation". This event marked the beginning of a war that would last for five years, which would end in April 1863 with the signing of the Treaty of Coche, which consecrated the nominal triumph of the Federation.

The Federal War is also known as the Long War, the Federal Revolution and the Five Years War. The importance of February 20, 1859 in the history of Venezuela is highlighted in the National Coat of Arms, where two inscriptions appear: "April 19, 1810, Independence", and "February 20, 1859, Federation".

The Federation Day opened the participation of the popular masses in a conflict that meant the prolongation of the War of Independence, in allusion to those problems of social and political character that were not definitively solved after the emancipation from Spain in 1821. The leaders of this movement were Ezequiel Zamora and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.

Among the main causes pointed out for the Federal War were the continuation of the same social and economic structure of the Colony; the preservation of slavery and large estates; the predominance of the landowning class in power. All these factors were part of the political discourse of the liberals who knew how to capitalize on social discontent.

The Federal War confronted the sides formed by the centralism of the Conservative party and the federalism of the Liberal party. The political program raised by the federalists and commemorated on Federation Day was not very different from the contents of the constitution in force on December 24, 1858. The essential point was raised by Juan Crisóstomo Falcón in his proclamation of Palmaso when he stated that in the Republics the exercise of all social powers corresponds to the majorities.